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Dressing up for church

“A five-year-old boy has been banned from his church playgroup because he likes to wear princess dresses.

Romeo Clarke, from Rugby, Warwickshire, who has three older sisters, has amassed a collection of 100 dresses and eight pairs of high-heeled children’s shoes.

The youngster likes to wear heels and something in his favourite colour, pink – such as socks or a hair clip, every single day. Romeo also likes having his hair straightened, his nails painted and playing with Barbie dolls.

He says he is unfazed by what people think.

But the organisers of Romeo’s after-school club, run by his his local church, believe his princess dresses were ‘confusing’ the other children and have asked him not to return. They say he can only rejoin the group if he wears gender-appropriate clothing.

His furious mother Georgina Clarke, 36, has lodged a complaint with the church, claiming they are discriminating against her son.

The stay-at-home single mother said: ‘I was so cross when I was told he couldn’t wear dresses I was speechless – all I could ask was, why?

‘Wearing the dress is his choice and if wearing it makes him happy, it’s fine with me.

‘This is not a case of my son being trapped in a girl’s body – he’s a normal boy who, because he has three big sisters, likes wearing dresses. What is wrong with that?’

Romeo started St Marie’s Catholic Primary School in Rugby, Warwickshire, last September and mother Georgina also enrolled him in the Buzz Children’s Club at their local church.

The club, which is run by the Rugby Christian Fellowship Church, charges £1 per week for children aged 5-7 to to attend every Wednesday from 4.30-6pm.

Three weeks ago Georgina, who is also mother to Kayla, 19, Amber 18, and Keisha, 12, was approached by the organisers of the group, who informed her Romeo was no longer welcome.

She said: ‘I was shocked and surprised, the leader Bex Venables, who is a really lovely lady, said she didn’t think it was appropriate he wore the dress.

‘She said it was upsetting and confusing the other children.

‘She took to me to one side after I dropped him off and said “Romeo will be welcome back when he wears clothes which match his gender.”

‘I spoke to three other parents who take their children to the group. I asked them if Romeo wearing the dress concerned them or their children in any way and they all said no.

‘What does the gender matter? Romeo keeps asking when he is going back and I don’t know what to say.

‘He is going to be so upset as he loves going to play there.’

Georgina says Romeo has had an eye for ‘glitzy things’, since he was two years old.

‘He has always been surrounded by girls I suppose, with his three older sisters. If he asks for it, they straighten his hair and paint his nails when they are doing theirs.

‘Romeo has about 100 dresses and high heels, too. He has to wear something pink everyday, even something like a hair clip.

‘He pretty much comes home from school, throws off his uniform, puts on a dress and starts singing.

‘His favourite film is Frozen and loves acting out the role of the princesses with his sisters.

‘He wears his dress to the supermarket and sings down the aisles, he isn’t bothered what people think. I don’t think he should be, I’m proud he is so free and comfortable with himself.

‘He took a Barbie to school the other week, I did warn him the other children might say something but he didn’t care.

‘He is friends with boys and girls, but mostly girls. I think he is quite theatrical so he might end up on the stage, I guess. He loves performing.

‘I try to encourage his boy side too and he goes rock climbing once a week and swimming but I think he wants to do ballet too.

‘The whole family is very supportive. He won’t be going back to that club, he will just have to go somewhere else.’

Romeo’s father Winston Morris, 42, a builder, who has separated from the family, added: ‘I don’t care if he wears the dress. He can be whatever he wants to be.

‘I am not happy with the way the whole thing has been dealt with.

‘We think he has been singled out and he definitely won’t be going back.’

Mrs Venables, the Minister in Training at the Rugby Christian Fellowship yesterday defended the decision.

She said: ‘Georgina’s son is still allowed to attend Buzz Children’s Club but has been asked to wear clothing of the gender stated on his registration form, which states male.

‘This request is no different from what is asked by his school, where he wears a boys’ uniform.

‘Buzz Children’s Club seeks to follow our usual safeguarding guidelines and we did so in this case in order to avoid any confusion or possible conflict or teasing from other children.’

Transgender youth whose parents pressure them to conform to their anatomical gender report higher levels of depression, suicide attempts and unsafe s3x than peers who receive little or no pressure from parents. If you are happy to be a part of this for your child (on the off chance that their play acting is more than just that) by all means you go right ahead – as for me and my house, we choose life for our son – to live it as he chooses to express himself

Transgender youth whose parents pressure them to conform to their anatomical gender report higher levels of depression, illegal drug use, suicide attempts and unsafe sex than peers who receive little or no pressure from parents. If you are happy to be a part of this for your child (on the off chance that their play acting is more than just that) by all means you go right ahead – as for me and my house, we choose life for our son – to live it as he chooses to express himself.

People are going cukoo if they want to encourage their sons to dress and act like girls

See here’s the thing Brett – you say they are dressing and acting like girls – I say my son is dressing up and acting…period…I don’t place the gender rules on it like you seem to need to. He’s a well adjusted lovely creative young child and I encourage him to be…simply BE – what on earth can be wrong with that?

I think men are cuckoo when they think that being a boy or a man is about how you dress and act, and not about how you are in your character and spirituality. He’ll catch enough of societies stereotyping and issues as he grows – I’m not going to add to them.

People are going cukoo if they want to encourage their sons to dress and act like girls when they’re in their formative years. Growing up is hard enough without throwing a confused identity into the mix.

Parents have a responsibility to set in place boundaries to protect their children.

As I said, do what you deem fit. But don’t call bulldust on others because of what you feel is appropriate. I gave an opinion, and an example, that is all, based on the information in the post which is clearly unusual because it has made the news and gone viral. Nothing to do with you. Nothing. Of course we set boundaries with children, according to our understanding of their needs and measure of how we see things will pan out. For Christians, based on the values of scripture, too. Nothing to do with politics, or social agendas, or political correctness. Just basic parenting and wisdom.

FFS Long Train – that’s the biggest pile of bullshit I’ve ever heard! I let my son wear his tutu;’s, put high heals, sing and dance and let his sisters do his nails – and it will make him far more understanding of girls and women when he’s older, I guarantee you – sitting down the girls and telling them to treat him like a boy? what a load of bullshit – how do you treat a boy? How do you treat a gender as a child? Good grief I feel sorry for some kids.

You have to do what you think fit with your own family, of course. My son-in-law has two older girls, 5 and 2 and a four month old boy. He has already sat the girls down and told them lovingly, daddily and firmly that they are to treat him as a boy and not dress him in pink stuff or girly stuff and mess around with make-up. “Yes. daddy!” Set the boundaries early. In the very crucial formative years. Simple. Done.

The boy in the post is rather tragic I think, especially having been allowed to be in the media. We hope he’ll grow out of it, but the parading of his current reference isn’t helping. If the school has a dress code for boys and girls it should be adhered to by parents. End of.

Yeah, I think I dressed up once or twice too. But for me (and it’s just my opinion),
I think letting a boy go out wearing a dress to church, school, the park etc is weird.
And some men don’t grow out of it.
And I think that’s weird too. Though I probably am not allowed to say so publicly.

But hey, I think pierced tongues, noses and eyebrows are weird too.
I’m old school.

Shoot me.

(Btw, you Greg are a person who can disagree vehemently in a sane way).

I’d happily have a beer with you even if you were wearing a pink dress and bells in your hair.

dress ups is dress up brother – have you had a young son with older sisters? If not, ask around, you’ll find it quite common that they like to dress in their sisters clothes and do make up…they grow out of it

Totally weird parents? Q – except for the 100 dresses – that article could have been about my 3 year old son who has 2 older sister – he loves to wear his pink tutu, he often wears dresses all day at his day care and wears headbands, gets into his sisters make up and nail polish, pretends he has long flowing hair like his older sisters and absolutely loves to sing and dance. His favorite movie and songs at the moment are from Frozen as well!

I have no problem with this and hold his hand proudly while we’re out shopping and he’s wearing his headband or plastic high heels. I often have other parents ask me if I think he might grow up gay and i say not at all – he might, but his wearing clothes and dancing right now isn’t a sign of that! He also likes to climb mountains (his cubby house), wrestle with his dad, paint and jump in puddles.